The Changing Structure of Inner-city Retail Banking: Examining Bank Branch and Payday Loan Outlet Locations in Winnipeg, 1980-2009.

This paper examines the distribution of mainstream financial institutions (FIs) branches (banks and credit unions) and payday lender outlets in Winnipeg. This is done using historical records for the last thirty years. With statistical testing the article considers whether mainstream FIs and payday loan outlets have a location bias that favours more affluent neighbourhoods at the expense of low-income communities. The results find that mainstream FI branches dropped slightly dur-ing the study period and dropped dramatically in Winnipeg's inner-city. Payday lender outlets first appeared in the late 1990s and experienced rapid growth in the mid 2000s. Statistical testing supported the hypothesis that poor neighbourhoods are underrepresented by mainstream FI branches and overburdened by payday lender outlets. Policy implications point to the need for a more holistic basic banking concept that includes an understanding of the importance of branch location and fringe bank regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]